Help feeding an injured confined feral rooster please

[emilysteng]

Hi everyone,

I posted some time ago in the rehoming about Bruce the rooster. He is a feral rooster who I "know" and we found injured in the bushes

. Long story made short is that he was shot with a pellet gun, which broke his leg at his femur. A kind vet did the surgery for the cost of what we could come up with in donations and now he is recovering in my second bedroom at my home.

My questions are about feeding him. I've bought everything. He won't eat feed. He used to love cracked corn when he ran free but now doesn't really like it either. He'll eat a little bit of scratch and wild bird seed but not enough. He was into rice but now seems tired of it. He currently likes grapes and leafy greens. The one thing I know he won't get tired of is crickets and mealworms. I finally though of buying him those yesterday and he gobbled them up. I bought a one pound bag of the dried mealworms now and he loves those. He has also loved cat food in the past but I know I can't give him much of that. Today I also got him some grit and oyster shell and I think he may have eaten a little bit.

He is still going to be in confinement for recovery for 2-3 more weeks. Then he will be rehomed at a local school in his own enclosure. I'm just worried about him getting enough nutrition and gaining weight as he lost weight because he was probably injured awhile before we found him. Recently his poops have been very watery too. Wondering if that is because he is missing his grit.

If he eats a little scratch, some grapes, some leafy greens and some mealworms is that enough? How much does he need to eat? Is it bad if he eats a lot of mealworms? I know he would probably eat the whole one pound bag if I let him. And what combo will give him proper nutrition? Any other suggestions? He of course loves any bug. When I kill a bug in the house I give it to him. He's even eaten little field mice that the cats catch and bring inside. That is what he is used to as a feral rooster out here. Oh, he used to run free at the plant nursery where I work. This is in Hawaii.

Thanks for any advice. Just concerned with his weight and his watery poops. I think he is doing well otherwise!

Emily

 

[cavemanrich]

JUST KEEP GIVING HIM WHATEVER HE WILL EAT.. Why do you think cat food is no good for him.??? My chickens eat cat food whenever they get a chance to. They never had any bad reactions. Understand that cat food is complete nutrition. Now if you were feeding hens and wanted optimal laying, then that would be a different story. Also feeding him some layer feed would likely be good for him now. Reason.;; He needs calcium to rebuild his broken femur. Use the mealworms in a mixture of other feed to encourage him to eat. He may pick them out, but in the process eat some of the other content.

WISHING YOU BEST AND I AM SOOOO IMPRESSED THAT YOU ARE HELPING THIS LITTLE ROOSTER TO RECOVERY.

 

[emilysteng]

Thank you so much for your reply. I just thought with cat food it could be bad if they eat too much. I bought one can and I'm going to mix it with feed and give it to him. How much a day do you think they can take?

I also have been giving him scrambled eggs. He likes that. What's a good amount for that? One egg a day?

Guess if he eats a mixture of things like eggs, a little cat food, leafy greens, berries and grapes, plus a little scratch and bread he will be ok? Today I am going to get a scale to weigh him and make sure he's not losing weight.

In a few days when he finishes his medicine I plan on taking back to the plant nursery and keep him in a dog crate over there. The only issue is the heat. I can't keep him at my house much longer as he crows every morning and we can't have pets and live in a dense area. Any advice on that front? We put the dog crate in the shade but sometimes even then it gets so hot and he pants in the afternoon.

 

[rides2far]

You can give him cold treats, frozen veggies, anything cold. Put ice in his water, put a box fan in front of his cage, & freeze small water bottles to place around the edges of his cage & in front of the fan.

 

[cavemanrich]

If you would be able to make an enclosure from chicken wire, or what ever else might be handy lying around. That would be more airy I know that in Hawaii free resources may be more scarce than here in the metro areas on mainland. Craigs lists have many peeps giving things away free or very reasonably. I do such, so things do not end in trash if someone can still use something.
I like the variety of food you are feeding him. My suggestion is let him eat as much as he can. He is quite skinny at this point. An egg per day is also ideal food.
Keep us posted on your progress. I really want to see him snap back to normal. BTW. what was the circumstance him being shot by a pellet. Was someone looking to make a dinner out of him ??? or was it malicious action ??? I know of a lot of loose chickens running around and living feral on the islands. My son recently visited Hawaii and did spot a few.

 

[emilysteng]

We're not sure exactly why he got shot or who did it. Of course we're wondering as my friend, the owner of the nursery, lives there also. Probably because chickens run wild and there are way too many. He was probably crowing and bothering someone. Or someone is just mean and was shooting for fun. A lot of people do that to keep them away from their property.

I thought about the chicken wire enclosure type thing. A lady who has been helping me through this whole thing has something I could borrow. The problem is they're not as secure as the dog crate and we need to be careful of predators such as dogs and mongoose.

I will keep giving him the variety of foods. He will never be normal again. We are a week and a half past surgery and he is still barely hobbling on the repaired leg. The vet thinks he'll be able to use it with a limp. I sure hope so. That's why we found him a spot to retire at this school. Just gotta get through the next couple weeks.....

 

[trailrider330]

At this point, I think you can feed him pretty much whatever he will eat.

Everything you are offering is great. I know some people also use things like yogurt and oatmeal. My birds also seem to like animal proteins (like hamburger scraps) when they can get them as well as strawberries and corn on the cob. Mealworms are always a big hit and for a special treat my boys dig up grubs from the garden for our chickens.

Either way, Bruce is very fortunate to have found you, gotten a vet to perform the surgery at a reduced rate, and already found a new home.

 

[jessbe]

Can you do something like a chicken tractor since he has been a wild rooster so he might do a little bit better if he can get his beak in the grass

 

[BantyChooks]

scrambled eggs are great!

 

[jessbe]

Yea scramble up some eggs and put in some oats or wheat or whatever since he likes that